When in Rome—prior to Late Antiquity—expect your daily bread delivered upriver on barges from the bakeries in Ostia. The old port was the city's bakery, but most importantly, it was THE international seaport of the Roman Empire nestled in the mouth (ostia) of the Tiber River. Lots of shit happened geologically and politically to turn Ostia into a ghost town by the Middle Ages. Inadvertently—and much, much later—this turned Ostia into Ostia Antica, a major archaeological site within a 40 minute Metro ride from downtown Rome, with a short walk from the stop to the park. It should not be missed. You can find plenty on-line about it, but this site is especially interesting: http://www.ostia-antica.org
I'm not sure how LInny and I came across it, but we had plenty of incentive but our list was too long. Rome is one vast archaeology and history lesson and we had so little time to soak it up. Or even get a reasonable sense of it. Plus Rome is great in the moment, and should be savored over dinner or wine or coffee. Or sitting in a park or public space and watching. And it was an unexpected moment that helped nudge our ahistorical assumptions aside for a much deeper understanding of Rome. We'd rented a flat near the Vatican from a young woman named Maria who was handling the transaction for a woman our age named Maria. The older Maria was a friend of the younger Maria's mother Maria, who was the retired director of archaeology at Pompeii. The youngest Maria invited us, along with our landlord Maria, to her mother Maria's home in the Roman hills for dinner.
And after a lovely Roman meal and considerable wine, we left knowing a lot more about Pompeii and Rome, including the story of Ostia Antica and the amazing accessibility to antiquities it offers. That clinched it.
